Machine for saturating paper-stock



I2. J. CADY.

y MACHINE FOR SATURATING PAPER STOCK. APPLICATION FILED Nov. s, 1919.

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Zilli titl lEllLllSl-ld. Jl'. Gllillf, Ulli1 OAK PARK, ILJINOIS,

MACHNJE FOR SATURTING PAPIER-STOCK.

Ldflfb application tiled November 5, i919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, Ensim il. their, a. citizen of the United States, residing at l@ak Park, in the county of Cook and State of lllinois, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Machines for Saturating Paper-Stock, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to machines for saturating paper stock with a suitable solution of asphalt or similar material.

Prior machines for saturating paper stock with asphaltic and similar solutions in 'which the penetration of the liquid was due to the absorbent or capillary quality or action of the stock itself, have not been practical from a commercial point of View because of their small yardage or output. lln saturating paper stock with such solutions by the absorbent or capillary action of the stock, each linear portion of the stock must remain in contact with the solution for a considerable time owing to the fact that such heavy solutions are not readily absorbed or taken up by the' stock, and this exposure must be materially extended in time when dense or heavy stock is so treated, such as strawboard. ln none of these paper fabrics can the saturation by capillary action be satis- `facto'rily effected by an exposure of each portion of the stock for less than two minutes, and for the heavier grades an exposure of three or four minutes is frequently necessary. Consequently where the exposure was obtained by merely carrying the stock through the solution it follows that the speed of the stock was diminished to increase the time of exposure, and so the output of the machine was seriously reduced, or else the tank had to be lengthened to such extent as to make its construction and operation prohibitive. Efforts have been made to overcome this objection by passing the stock back and forth through the solution in a plurality of runs. But these efforts have not succeeded; in such instances where the stock was passed back aud forth between different belts the sticky.l nature of these solutions causes the stock t'o adhere to each belt and so not pass readily to the succeed-- ing belt, with the result that as the tensile strength of the stock is weakened by the hot solution it breaks and splits and requires frequent stoppages of the machine specification of Letters Patent.

Patented duly n, fami.

serial no. 335Mo.

and drainage of the tank to take out the broken ends of the fabric, this breakage being particularly noticeable with brittle stock; and in such instances where the stock was merely passed in unsupported runs around successive rolls the weight of the `temporarily weakened stock caused it to slump and tear with the same unfavorable results.

rlFhe object of my invention is to provide a machine which will obviate these defects so that saturation of paper stock by its absorbent or capillary quality or action may be accomplished with increased speed and with an entire absence of its slumping and tearing and with a minimum of liability of its breaking or fracturing. The invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claims by which the stock is carried through the solution in a sinuous path to increase the time of the exposure, and also continuously supported during its entire exposure to the solution to obviate its splitting or breaking or tearing.

ln the drawing Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view showing an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention in which stock is carried through the solution in a sinuous path by a foraminous apron running in contact with a plurality of revolvinp; foraminous cylinders or drums disposed in tandem inthe tank, and Fig. 2 is a detail sectional' View.

ln the drawing the reference numeral 5 represents a tank or vessel ofgeneral rectangular shape containing the liquid as phaltic or bituminous solution or compound, which is prepared in any usual way now well known in the art in such consistency that it will penetrate or soak into paper stock. The tank is supported by a suitable frame and is provided with a supply pipe 6 for the satluatng,r solution or compound, and at its bottom with an outlet 7 by which the solution may be drawn off and the tank emptied. llt is also provided with a steamjacket 8 in which steam is supplied through pipe 9 from any suitable source to heat the liquid content of the tank to the required temperature, and a drain 10 is provided for the products of condensation in the steamjacket.

The tank is provided with a plurality of cylinders or drums each having a perforated body 11 and mounted on va revolving llltl shaft 12 which is supported across the tank in suitable bearings having usual stuffingboxes, and has a drive connection at one of its projecting ends to revolve the shaft and drum from any suitable source of power (not shown). The periphery or body of each drum is preferably composed of foraminous material, such as wire-mesh, and is supported in position on its shaft by a series of spaced inner rings 13 carried by spiders 14 fixed to the shaft. The drums are open at the ends so that the saturant passes freely into them, and are arranged in a substantially horizontal line along the length'of the tank, the driving connections being arranged to synchronously revolve them in the same direction. The drums in practice may be in batteries or groups of any suitable number of units, in the present example four drums being alined in tandem along the length -of the tank.

The tank is provided with a single trav eling endless apron 15, preferably of wire- Inesh, whose width is approximately the length of the drums, and thisapron passes over suitable guide-rollers with parts of its working stretch or run against the outer surfaces of the drums for the major portion of their circumference, and with its idle run spaced from the working run. The apron passes over a pair of end rollers 16 and 17 extending across each end of the tank near its top and bottom and through its side walls where they are carried in suitable bearings on the frame. A pair of guide rollers 18 and 19, respectively, is locatedon opposite sides of the vertical plane of the shaft of each drum, the rollers of each pair being arranged to guide the working run of the apron to and from itsposition upon the associated drum, and being spaced apart from each other to provide free ingress and egress of the apron and stock.

In the operation of the apparatus the drums are rotated in unison in the same direction, and their rotation serves to -move the working run of the apron in corresponding direction, this movement being aided by positively driving one or more of the apron rollers if found desirable. The end of a length of stocks S is fed into the bite between the apron and initial drum, as at the left hand of the figure, and is thence carried around the first drum, across the horizontal intervening portion of the apron to the second drum, around the second drum, and so on to the end of the battery or group, where it passes out of the tank. After the stock is threaded through the machine it follows the course of the apron and passes through the solution in a sinuous path which doubles back on itself transversely through the body of the solution in substantially two transverse legs for each drum or cylinder, so that the stock passes in an extended path in the solution and is longer subjected to its saturating action than if it traveled in an unbroken path. For example, four tandem drums each four feet in diameter afford about 54 linear feet of exposure in a shallow tank only enough more than 16 feet in length to afford clearance for the thin apron and stock; in other words, by moving the stock in a run having legs transverse to the length of the body of solution I obtain a saturating exposure that is more than three times the length of this body. This gives almost triple increased yardage or output; while 30 linear feet per minute afford satisfactory commercial results, my invention easily produces G() linear feet per minute. Also, by disposing the direction of the several transverse legs of the run in a curve, the necessary time of exposure of the stock to the heavy saturant is obtained in a body of the solution that is shallower in depth and shorter in length than `would suffice to expose the stock for the same time in straight transverse or longitudinal runs, respectively, and so my invention enables the -operator to use a smaller body of the heavy saturant and keep it more easily and uniformly heated to prevent it from thickening by a fall in temperature and consequently gumming up the mechanism. lVith my invention, each linear portion of the stock travels through the liquid back and forth across the body of the solution, so that while the speed of its travel may be fast and so the output may be large the stock is subjected to the solution for a sufficient time to enable its slow absorbent or capillary action to take up sufficient of the heavy solution to completely and uniformly saturate it. Of course, with dense stock the number of drums used in the battery or group would be increased to multiply the number of transverse legs of travel of the stock through the solution; in commercial practice four drums would suffice for ordinary paper felt, and for denser strawboard satisfactory results would be obtained by a battery of six drums. Obviously, a machine of the latter size would be sufficient for all grades, as the lighter ones would be run over only the required lesser number of drums and then led out of the machine.

Furthermore, the single apron carries the stock from the beginning of its contact with the solution until its exit therefrom, thereby eliminating all necessity of passing the stock from one supporting member to another and the consequent liability of the stock to adhere to its preceding supporter and to buckle against a succeeding one, and so minimizes the liability of the stock to break or rupture; and if the stock does break the apron carries the broken portions out of the solution so that it is not necessary to stop the operation and drain the tank to take out the neem/av broken parts ofthe stock. rll`he curvature of apron, and the intermediate flat portions of the apron between its adjacent curved legs prevent the stock from sagging and tearing at any point of its run; all slumping or sagging and consequent straining and tearing of the stock temporarily weakened by the hot solution is avoided. In practice it is possible with my invention to saturate stock as light as ordinary print or news paper, which even before having its tensile strength weakened by the hot solution is not strong enough to carry itself through an unsup ported path.` By my invention the stock is supported at all points of its path by a single apron.

lWhile l prefer to make the drums and the supporting apron of a foraminous or woven wire fabric, they may be constructed in any suitable manner that gives adequate support to the stock and permits the solution to freely contact with its surfaces. While li prefer to have the `drums rotate they may be stationary, and the apron may be moved by power suitably applied to its guide rollers; in either case the drums form supporting members providing paths for the stock curved across the line of their tandem disposition in the tank. 'fhe apron preferably is entirely immersed in the solution, but its horizontal portions may be above the level.

li claim:

l. ln a saturating machine, a tank for a saturating solution, a plurality of drums having open ends and perforated bodies arranged in spaced tandem relation in the tank, a pair of spaced guides arranged above the top of each drum to provide an upper passage'thereto, and a single endless open apron moving on the drums and their spaced guides to provide a continuous supporting -run for the stock moving in a series of curved legs across the tandem line of the drums and in tangential legs between adja-` cent drums.

2. ln a saturating machine, a tank for a saturating solution, a plurality of rotating drums having open ends and perforated bodies spaced in tandem relation in the tank, a single endless open apron passing successively upon the drums to simultaneously move in the same direction therewith, and guides arranged to hold the apron in open relation above each drum, to provide a pas sage to its upper surface, and means to guide the lower portion of the apron below the drums.

ln testimony whereof l affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ELISHA d. CADE l/Vitnesses:

J. MoRoennrs, NATHAN lll/f. Simmer. 

